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AlicciaB, tanks for the follow up and the pro-bono offer. I hope someone can benefit.
Thanks also to TomWald for the advice and the guilt trip, I've taken you up on both.
And for those who need resolution after drudging through my lengthy diatribe (above), I survived my "trial," though I can hardly say it was all I hoped it would be. Bottom line: I ended up paying $60 dollars and now have "Bicycle Riding on Sidewalk" tattooed to my driving record.
I showed up to the trial wearing a tie, armed with notes, pictures and legal documents and had high hopes of shouting "you can't handle the truth!" at some point. But after the team of prosecutors broke from their huddle, one of them sought me out and asked if I would "speak with her outside the courtroom."
This unexpected tactic threw off my game and I never recovered. It didn't help that she was younger than me (I'm a twenty-something grad student) and was being forcefully cordial, saying things like: "I just spoke with both the police officers and they're ready to testify that they both saw you," and "I don't want you to have to pay the full amount because the judge will probably make you pay the full $147." So she offered me an even better deal than the previous $110 bargain offered by the previous prosecutor during my Deposition a few weeks prior:
"It's just $60--to cover the court costs," was her offer, which seemed like a reasonable justification in my mind: now I wasn't paying for the ticket anymore, I was simply paying for an administrative cost.
So instead of proceeding with the trial, I bent over and paid the $60. I was just relieved to have that all behind me, though it was a bit humbling, in more ways than one. I can only imagine what people feel like when serious injustices occur!
Maybe one day someone can make a facial challenge to the actual law, which is certainly not being applied the way State Law "§ 12-2-36 PENALTY; ENFORCEMENT" defines it (also above). For now you're pretty much screwed, because there is no "traffic school" for bicycles. And pleading "ignorance" or saying "that's a stupid law" isn't going to go very far with a judge, so I am told ... such decisions would require actual "judgment" and I think that will cost more than $60.
Short story: Riding bicycle on sidewalk on the Drag = $147.00
Long story:
First, a caveat -I avoid riding on sidewalks as much as possible...
...but I got caught cutting from the dead-end pedestrian mall on 23rd and Guadalupe (aka "The Drag") over the sidewalk for about 40 feet to the large crosswalk leading into the UT mall. While I'm waiting at the crosswalk, a cop (on of two walking together down the sidewalk) walks up to me and says, "Hey you! You can't ride on the sidewalk here."
Surprised, I told him, "Really? I didn't know" and tried to explain that it was impossible to get from that 23rd (which is a pedestrian mall) to this crosswalk otherwise. The cop replied, "there's signs everywhere" and I should have walked my bike. This was a week before school started, so there weren't many people around, I didn't think twice about it, not even when I slowly passed the cops on my bike. I told him that I sincerely didn't know and asked if he could just give me a warning. He replied as if he had no control or judgment, "we're enforcing a zero tolerance policy. The businesses here a really cracking down." He proceeded to process my driver's license and give me a "misdemeanor" ticket (I wish I had given him my student ID instead). I've since cast a curse on those businesses, to no avail yet.
Meanwhile the other cop had just shouted at a J-walking pedestrian "use the crosswalk" ... I made a smart-ass comment about zero-tolerance for J-walking, which they didn't find funny. Meanwhile a small crowd had gathered around in disbelief, so I think the cops were trying to set an example. I'm glad I kept my cool and didn't say anything more and felt my only spiteful recourse was to just stare at him after he said "have a nice day."
Having no idea what the fine was, I called the city court several times before someone told me that I needed to process the ticket in person. Down at the courthouse, the clerks had never seen such a "silly" ticket and had no idea how to enter it in the record. Finally a supervisor came out and said it's actually a "traffic violation" and it would cost me $147 if I didn't want to fight it. This is when I lost my cool (inside my mind, not at the helpless clerks). Not so much for the extreme cost of $147, but for being recorded as a Traffic Violation?! I must have missed that part of the driving test. Furthermore, I have a Commercial Driver's License, so this is the last thing I need on my record.
I told them I'd like to contest the charge. Fortunately there was a cancellation the next week, otherwise I would have had to wait well into November for the next available slot.
I show up to the court the next week, all ready to plead my case and learn that it was just a "deposition:" an official venue to either plead guilty, defer, or go to trial. "Guilty" wasn't an option for me. The court prosecutor told me they didn't have any "deferment" option for bicyclists (i.e. driver's ed. for motorists), but offered me a deal at $110. So I told him "no way" and that I wanted a trial with a judge (though I had the option to request a jury, I thought enough time had been wasted on this case already).
My trial date is in a couple weeks. I've since gathered evidence and exhibits (photos of sicker-covered "no bicycling" signs on the drag and a map of my route. I'll take that article with $20-40 quoted as well). Maybe the cop won't show. But if he does, they'll have to explain why my "misdemeanor" changed to a "traffic violation."
But all this gray area interpretation of bicycle laws makes me feel pretty vulnerable, legally and physically. Something should be drafted to give bicyclists some rights (which would come with responsibilities too. Hell, I'd even take a cycling test if it gave me some more legal leverage against motorists). And I agree that cyclists should have to obey traffic laws, only if we're afforded the same traffic rights.
I've hit my forearm on plenty of side-view mirrors to know how close cars come to cyclists.
I'm tired of being treated like a second-class citizen on Austin's streets.
Thanks for letting me vent.
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